Seminole County Utility Mechanic Killed in Lake Mary Trench Accident

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on August 29, 2020

Investigators with the Seminole County Fire Rescue are working diligently with authorities to determine the cause of an unusual electrocution accident which claimed the life of a local county employee and injured three firefighters on August 28^th, 2020. Early reports indicate that the worker had become trapped in a trench by a large piece of concrete sidewalk while attempting to repair a water main break at the 200 block of Chiswell Place in the Lake Mary area.

It was approximately 10:40 a.m. Friday morning when Lake Mary 9-1-1 operators started to receive their first calls referencing a man who appeared to be trapped in a watery hole by a section of sidewalk that had dislodged from its original, above-ground position. “We need help getting the sidewalk off of him,” one witness said. According to Seminole County Fire Chief Otto Drozd, whose rescue team was the first to arrive at the scene of the accident, Tomasz Sajkowski, a utilities operations distribution mechanic, was working in conjunction with his vacuum truck to remove excess water that had accumulated in the 6-foot deep trench after the water main ruptured.

Since the water flow to the area in question had already been shut off prior to the rescuers arrival, firefighters climbed down into the hole with the Jaws of Life in order to properly assist & extricate Mr. Sajkowski. However, due to the conditions of the sidewalk collapse and certainly unknown to anyone at the time, there were exposed wires from a nearby electrical box and residual water from the main valve was continuing to leak into the trench, creating an increasingly dangerous situation for everyone involved. Unfortunately, once the rescuers started up the life-saving device, the watery trench became electrically charged and three firefighters were electrocuted. It is unclear at this time if Mr. Sajkowski was injured in the electrical shock or if succumbed to the injuries he sustained from being trapped underneath the concrete rubble.

The three Seminole County firefighters were immediately transported to a local Lake Mary hospital where they received medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.

Sources:

• Sidewalk collapse kills Seminole worker; firefighters injured during rescue attempt
• County worker dies, 3 firefighters injured when sidewalk collapses in Lake Mary neighborhood

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.